In match number 33 of the Tata Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026, Mumbai Indians (MI) host Chennai Super Kings (CSK) at the Wankhede Stadium. CSK was once again without its former captain MS Dhoni in the team. Since Dhoni has not been able to recover from the calf strain suffered during the pre-season, he has now missed 7 consecutive matches.
During the match, CSK’s batting coach was taking questions from Ravi Shastri and Sunil Gavaskar on the mic about MS Dhoni’s return date and the role of the former CSK skipper once he is available in the team.
MS Dhoni will return in the next match- Mike Hussey
Mike Hussey said, “We are hopeful that MS Dhoni will be back in the next game, and we want him back as soon as possible. He was not 100% today, but he was batting well in the nets and running between the wickets, so hopefully he will be back in the next game. When MS Dhoni comes back, he will be behind the stumps, not as an impact player.”
MS Dhoni was seen during the practice session last night and he also kept wickets inside the nets. It was reported that he was fit for the game; However, Dhoni’s name was not in the team. The surprising thing is that MS Dhoni has not been seen in the dugout or even in the stadium.
Dhoni was seen playing with Champak
Dhoni, who has led CSK to five IPL wins, took an intensive training session on Tuesday, kept wickets and then batted in the nets. On Wednesday, he had a brief session before taking a break, then returned for more than an hour to face the throwdown specialists and fast bowlers.
After the session, Dhoni, a dog lover, was seen playing with the AI-powered IPL robotic dog and interacting with it briefly. They tried to show the robot their gestures, but it couldn’t always respond.
Never seen Dhoni keeping in the nets – Ravi Ashwin
Ahead of the MI vs CSK encounter, former CSK spinner Ravichandran Ashwin gave his verdict on Dhoni’s injury and confirmed that Dhoni has been declared fit to return and is expected to replace Sanju Samson.
“I have never seen Dhoni keeping in the nets before in my life. Today he was keeping, which means he is going to take the wicketkeeping gloves, and Sanju has to play the outfield role or can come in as an impact player. And I am 100% sure that he will play tomorrow (day after tomorrow). I have heard that he is fit and ready to play,” Ashwin said in a video on his YouTube channel.
Talking about the match, CSK has been invited to bat first and despite four wickets, Sanju Samson is playing a brilliant innings and is staying at one end. Samson is unbeaten on the score of 59 runs and if he is out then the absence of any specialist batsman will play a big role.
Also read: Ravi Shastri forgot the name of CSK captain Ruturaj Gaikwad during the toss in IPL 2026
